Australia's largest and fastest-growing games developer has swallowed one our oldest and most successful studios.

Krome Studios announced today it had acquired pioneering codeshop Melbourne House from Atari.

The addition of Melbourne House bolsters Krome Studios' size to almost 300 employees, making it one of the largest independent studios in the world.

Atari has been looking to offload its studios like Melbourne House for some time given its precarious financial position. News of the acquisition will come as a great relief to the Australian games development community as there were fears the studio could be shut down after work was completed on Test Drive Unlimited.
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Nintendo Australia has finally revealed the Australian pricing for Wii peripherals and games.

As feared, the combination of a Wii remote and Nunchuk accessory will cost a whopping $100 - at odds with Nintendo's description of the console's "affordable, mass-consumer" price.

Nintendo will release the highly anticipated Wii console on December 7 for $399.95, which includes a copy of Wii Sports.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wii Play are the only other first-party titles available on launch day, but Nintendo is expecting around 20 third-party titles.

In Australia, 26 Virtual Console classic games will be available in December, including 16 Nintendo titles and 10 Sega Megadrive games. NES games will cost $7.50, Super NES and Megadrive games $12, and N64 games $15.
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Microsoft is celebrating sales of over 100,000 Xbox 360 consoles in Australia.

The feat was achieved in just seven months, making 360 the fastest selling TV-based console in Australian history to reach the milestone. GfK figures show PS2 sold 78,000 in its first seven months on sale.

Over 400,000 360 games have also been sold since launch, with the best selling games including The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Call of Duty 2 and Saints Row.

"Xbox 360 has taken off in Australia demonstrating that the game has changed and consumers are ready for the next-generation of gaming now," says Microsoft's David McLean.

"Xbox 360 provides amazing value for the whole family and with the biggest line-up of next-generation games and accessories, we are confident that there will be lots of Xbox 360s sitting under Christmas trees this year."

Electronic Arts Australia has denied "spyware" in the new Battlefield 2142 game captures personal data from a user's PC.

Overseas gamers were alarmed last week by a warning inside the box of some copies of Battlefield 2142 about the presence of a "spyware"-style application installed with the game. No such warning is included in the Australian retail version of the game.

EA Australia's Jamie McKinlay says the program helps deliver advertisements based on the player's region.

"It's very important to clarify here that the advertising program in Battlefield 2142 does not access any files which are not directly related to the game," Mr McKinlay says.

"It does not capture personal data such as cookies or account login detail, or surfing history.
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Screen Play's interview with Australian PlayStation chief Michael Ephraim has caused a stir around the globe, with many web outlets seizing upon his comments on the pricing of Wii and Xbox 360, including highly respected sites.

Screen Play invited Mr Ephraim to respond to allegations of double standards considering PlayStation 3's high price tag and other comments from Screen Play readers, and his (entertaining) response is below.
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Grand Theft Auto bad boys Rockstar will publish one of the biggest games ever created in Australia.

L.A. Noire, currently in development at Team Bondi in Sydney, had previously been signed by Sony Computer Entertainment as a PlayStation 3 exclusive.

But it came as little surprise that Sony will now not be publishing the ambitious game, as it is well known among industry insiders that Team Bondi's CEO and Director of Development Brendan McNamara and Sony's President of Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison had an acrimonious falling out when they last worked together on The Getaway.

L.A. Noire is an interactive detective story set in the late 1940s, blending action, detection and deep storytelling as players try to solve a series of gruesome murders.
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Following speculation in May that Apple was recruiting game developers to work on iPod, games have been added to the iTunes store.

Games designed specifically for the fifth-generation iPod, released today, include Bejeweled, Cubis 2, Mahjong, Mini Golf, Pac-Man, Tetris, Texas Hold 'em, Vortex and Zuma. The games cost $4.99 each to download.

No additional gaming buttons have been added to the minimalist design of the iPod, but the new models offer a "60-percent brighter" colour screen.

Apple has displayed little ambition to capitalise on the booming games market since their ill-fated Bandai collaboration called Pippin, a multimedia game machine using Macintosh technology released in 1996.

The launch of Sony's PlayStation 3 has been delayed in Australia and Europe until March 2007.

Release dates for Japan and North America will remain the same - November 11 and 17 respectively.

Sony says the move is due to a delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode - a key component of the PS3's Blu-ray disc drive.

The delay will be a bitter blow to Sony's chances of continuing its domination of the gaming market. Microsoft's Xbox 360 has been available in Australia since March, and Nintendo is expected to release its innovative Wii console before Christmas.
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Sony has revealed the Australian track list for the upcoming SingStar Legends, and it's by far the best line-up yet.

You'll be able to sing tracks from Midnight Oil, David Bowie, Elvis, Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Madonna, Nirvana, Silverchair, The Angels, The Easybeats, The Jackson 5, The Police, U2 and more.

Until now, each SingStar compilation had its share of baffling inclusions (Steps, anyone?) but every Legends track should prove a party favourite.

Check out the list of tracks below, and start warming up your vocal chords for the game's early November release.
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The Office of Film and Literature classification has awarded Rockstar's controversial Bully an M rating.

The OFLC advisory for the game says it has "Moderate themes, violence and sexual references". While consumers of any age can purchase an M-rated game, they are not recommended for children under 15 years.

Many anti-bullying groups around the world have spoken out against the game, with the most recent protest outside Take Two's New York offices captured on this YouTube video.

"We think it's very irresponsible for someone to put a game out like this," says a protester in the video.
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Codemasters promise the original game's devilish sense of humour will be retained for the PSP sequel, which will be released next year.

Players can command soldiers individually or as a group, and new features will include air strikes, flamethrowers and sniper rifles. The game will also support four-player deathmatch action and co-operative play.

Many gamers are currently grumbling about being charged for pricey add-ons they believe should be included in the original purchase price of a game, but kudos to Vivendi for actually giving players something for nothing.

Available for download on August 18, FEAR Combat is the complete multiplayer component of spooky shooter FEAR, including all the updates, additional official maps and game modes all in one downloadable file.

There are 10 game modes, 19 multiplayer maps, 12 weapons and Punkbuster support to keep the cheats at bay.

Violent zombie horror game Dead Rising was given an MA15+ rating by Australia's OFLC yesterday, despite being refused classification in Germany.

The Xbox 360 game, which sees players controlling a photo-journalist forced to battle hordes of the undead, was deemed too violent in Germany because of the manner in which players must hack and slash enemies to fend them off.

Spokesman Vispi Bhopti says Nintendo Australia has not received any calls from local DS users with cracked consoles, but any units which have the "purely cosmetic" manufacturing fault will be replaced under warranty.

A press release from Nintendo of America says the flaw affects just 0.02 per cent of DS Lite units.

Of course, dropping your DS from the top of the Eureka Tower will not be covered by warranty.

A new $800,000 motion capture studio is a great fillip for the Australian games industry according to local developers.

CEO and President of the Games Developers' Association of Australia Evelyn Richardson says the studio at Deakin University's Burwood Campus will help produce world-class animation.

"This will have a positive impact on the local and national electronic games industry in terms of cost of production, and access to leading edge equipment, resulting in the highest quality animation."
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Rumours are strengthening that Microsoft is developing a portable entertainment device that will play digital music, video and games.

Competing with Apple's iPod, Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS and Game Boy products would represent a huge challenge even for Bill's behemoth, but would seem inevitable given Microsoft's determination to dominate the games industry.

When Screen Play last year asked Microsoft Vice President J Allard, who oversaw the design of the Xbox 360, whether he was tempted to make the 360's removable hard drive a portable music player to compete with iPod, he responded: "Boy it's tempting, isn't it? It is tempting. Who knows, maybe someday?"
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Fledgling digital TV channel ABC2 is coming to the rescue of disgruntled gamers with a TV program "about games, for gamers, by gamers".

Publicity Coordinator Nicola Fern says there were "a few groans here at ABC2" when the team saw Screen Play's piece on Channel 10's upcoming Cybershack technology show, but their program sounds much more promising.

Launching on August 22 at the prime time of 8.30pm, "Good Game" will be hosted by two passionate gamers: Mike Makowski and Jeremy Ray.

The half-hour program will initially run for 13 weeks and include gaming news, reviews, and interviews with "star creators and star players". It will also provide a platform for players' own creative efforts and helpful tips for gaming newcomers.

ABC2 is the ABC's free-to-air digital channel, available on channel 21 for users with a set top box or on selected pay TV services.

Update:

The ABC says the show's premiere has been pushed back to September 19.

Australian game developers are expecting a $95 million windfall from attending this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Australia dispatched its biggest contingent yet to E3 2006, with 45 companies exhibiting at the Games Australia stand.

The investment has already paid dividends, with contracts signed worth over $7.2 million, and the Games Developers Association of Australia is "conservatively forecasting" deals worth $95 million over the next two years.
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The Australian games development industry is embracing Asia as it gears up for the challenges of creating games for next-generation consoles.

The industry's annual Australian Game Developers Conference will be replaced this year by a new event called Game Connect: Asia-Pacific with a stronger focus on building business ties with Asian companies.

Game Developers Association of Australia President and CEO Evelyn Richardson says the change to the conference "recognises that the Asia-Pacific region is a very important business environment going forward".

Ms Richardson says many Asian companies see Australia as a gateway into the lucrative American market and are keen to partner with Australian developers.
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Australians will be unable to play the upcoming Reservoir Dogs game after it was refused classification by the OFLC.

An OFLC media release states: "The Classification Board made this decision on the basis that Reservoir Dogs contains frequent depictions of violence that have a high impact. As such, the computer game cannot be accommodated at the MA 15+ classification and must be Refused Classification."

The board listed examples of the high-impact material, like players being able to torture and blow the heads of hostages and police, plus slow-motion shoot-outs.
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Despite the success of Tantalus' Top Gear Rally, widely regarded as one of the best racing games on GBA, CEO Tom Crago says it was an incredibly difficult task to find a partner willing to release the self-funded Trick Star.

"It really is very close to impossible. The GBA business, more than perhaps any other platform, has been driven by licenses," says Crago.
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Bumper Action's web site spins an interesting yarn about owner Del Reiss traveling across the globe in a frantic search for the last available pinball tables to satisfy consumer demand.

Sunday's auction includes an Elvis pinball complete with a singing and dancing on-board King, World Cup themed machines, the last new Lord of the Rings table in Australia, and Data East's Guns and Roses pinball from 1994.

Telstra has launched an iTunes-style games download service offering a library of hundreds of titles.

The service is part of a growing push that could change the way Australians buy computer games, allowing customers to download products using broadband internet connections rather than purchasing discs at traditional retail stores.

BigPond Games Shop lets users try the games for 60 minutes before a purchase is required to continue playing.

The new venture will be run alongside Telstra's GameNow service, which was launched in April 2005 and lets users rent games by paying a monthly subscription fee.
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Sony's PlayStation 2 price cut to under $200 has lifted sales of the evergreen console dramatically.

Despite PlayStation 3's impending November release, Australians snapped up over 8500 PS2 consoles in the week ending June 4 according to GfK sales data, a jump of nearly 7500 units over the previous week.

By contrast, less than 500 Xbox consoles and under 250 GameCubes were sold.

However, Sony's competitors will be pleased with the sales of another 1600 Xbox 360 machines, bringing the 360's installed base to 55,000, and the debut of Nintendo's DS Lite handheld, which sold over 3500 units in its first week.

World Cup fever propelled EA's official FIFA simulation to the top of the latest all-format charts.
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A new forum for the discussion and analysis of interactive entertainment is attracting a growing number of enthusiasts.

Held monthly at the Australian Games Innovation Centre in Queens Road, Melbourne, Dissecta is bringing together game makers, distributors, retailers, students and fans.

The next event, held on June 20, sees Australian developers discussing the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo and has already booked out.

Tim Richards, a lawyer with a passion for interactive games, organised the first Dissecta a year ago and attendances have been growing steadily.

"I really enjoy listening to people from the local game industry speak about what they do," says Mr Richards. "I thought I would do something grassroots and regular to promote ongoing discussion of the industry and game making issues."

Mr Richards's aim was to create an "open and accessible" forum for the games industry to share information and opinions while encouraging the audience to participate, "particularly young people and students".

The all formats chart for the week ending May 21 from GfK sees the long-awaited Metroid Prime Hunters for Nintendo DS debuting at the top spot, knocking off the Big Quiz, which has sold over 18,000 copies in Australia.*

Discounting has also served to radically alter the latest charts, with titles like the Crash-Spyro and Shrek-Madagascar double packs entering the Top 10.

The extremely popular Need for Speed Most Wanted has also made a reappearance, selling over 50,000 copies since its pre-Christmas release.

Despite a software drought, Microsoft will be pleased over 50,000 Xbox 360 consoles have now sold in Oz, with another 1800 flying out the door in a week.
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One of Australia's most respected veteran developers has launched a new company to help talented artists and programmers get their big break into the games industry.

David Giles, head of Melbourne's Academy of Interactive Entertainment and former director of development at Melbourne House, says Young Gunz lets local developers access AIE graduates as a temporary workforce when needed.

GameSpot has published a tip-off that Apple is aggressively recruiting games engineers for its iTunes division.

The iPod has a few basic built-in games and talented coders have managed to make PC relics like Doom operate on the device, but until now, Apple has shown little interest in competing with the likes of PlayStation Portable, Nokia N-Gage and Nintendo DS for a slice of the handheld gaming market.
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Immersion Corp, the company in a patent infringement dispute with Sony over controller vibration technology, has cast further doubt upon Sony's reason for removing the rumble feature from its forthcoming PlayStation 3 controller.

At E3 last week, Sony claimed it had been forced to remove rumble from its pad (formerly known as Dual Shock) because it interfered with its new tilt-sensors.

However, Immersion Corp CEO Vic Viegas has told GameDaily Biz that any technical hurdles could be overcome.

"We already have three ways we know how to solve the problem, but we're not willing to work with them until we've resolved this long, simmering legal battle," Mr Viegas said.
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GamesIndustry.biz has reported the price of an Xbox 360 and a HD-DVD add-on drive for watching high-definition movies will be cheaper than a PlayStation 3.

PS3's Australian price starts from a whopping $829, but Sony is hoping the inclusion of a Blu-ray drive will prove irresistible to consumers desperate for content to show off their new LCD and plasma displays.

Blu-ray offers movies in dazzling high-definition and can store over five times more data than the standard DVD drive found in Microsoft's Xbox 360.
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